


Now or Never

by Random_Inked_Thoughts



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pining, Quarantine, Slow Burn, cause they're in freaking quarantine, this is a quarantine fic please don't read if you don't want to see that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:34:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23455624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Inked_Thoughts/pseuds/Random_Inked_Thoughts
Summary: Leon thought being champion of the Galar region was hard, try staying home with his mom and brother for an undefined period of time! His secret/not-so-secret crush on Raihan doesn't help things either...No one gets together during a quarantine, it just doesn't make sense!
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan, Rurina | Nessa/Sonia
Comments: 17
Kudos: 105





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I put college in this world cause...... I wanted it there. Not sure if it exists but I thought it would benefit the story. Also 9/10 interactions between Hop and Leon have been inspired by my actual brother and me trying to make it through this lol. (title is a placeholder and also ironic b/c NO ONE CAN DO ANYTHING RN)

Leon was tired. It seemed he was always tired these days, between all of the chores he was getting done around the house and all the college classes he was having to make up via zoom call. When it came down to it, he just felt empty come the end of the day, a hollow shell. The college classes however, were (admittedly) his idea and his idea alone. 

“You were the champion of the entire region!” Hop had exclaimed when Leon initially pitched the idea to him and their mother. “What could you possibly want with some dusty old textbooks and a degree?” 

“Well, bro, I think you should maybe think about taking your legs off the kitchen table before you ask me that,” Leon said, smirking as he lightly knocked Hop’s legs. “You know, just because you’re a hotshot pokemon trainer doesn’t mean that you get to get muddy footprints all over the house like you did when you were seven. Besides,” he continued as Hop took his legs down, “I was a champion for so many years, I want to see what more is out there, maybe learn to understand some of that weird sciency talk Sonia uses whenever we’re at the lab.” 

“Well I for one think that’s a lovely idea,” his mother said, ever supportive. She smiled at him, clearing the empty plate in front of him and bringing it over to the sink. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to learn more about the world, Hop.” 

Hop made a face at Leon. Leon stuck out his tongue in response. 

“Alright boys,” his mother chuckled, “I think it’s just about time you two run along and meet up with your friends.”

And so Leon, with a slightly heavy heart, had left home all over again to go to college. And it was exactly as he had expected, and he knew nothing more than a small fragment about all that there was to know in this wide world. 

But then a virus popped up in Kanto, a small thing, nothing more than a blip on everyone’s radar. Galar politicians in particular were quite quick to brush it off. However, that virus didn’t end over where it started, it spread and spread and spread. It was like sitting on the edge of a dunk tank chair while a little three year old waddled up to the mark, ball in hand.  _ Oh, this won’t be so bad _ , you think, sizing up the child.  _ He probably won’t even be able to throw the ball all the way to the target.  _ Next thing you know the floor is coming out from under you and you’re plunging into the icy water below. There’s a moment where you think you might not be able to breathe, and then the panic sets in. 

And when his campus was shut down due to worries over spreading said virus, Leon found himself right back where he had started- at home again. Walking back through the door, the first thing he saw was Hop, who met him with a flying tackle of a hug and a muffled “welcome home,” whispered in his ear. Wheezing slightly and chuckling, Leon rolled to the side. 

“Long time no see,” he said with a grin. “Wha’did I miss?” 

“Oh, everything’s been about the same,” Hop said, offhand, a flash of disappointment obscuring his face, the same disappointment Leon had seen at Hop’s last bracket match of the championship. 

“Hey,” he said, pretending to sound thoughtful, “It’s been a while since Charizard and I had a proper battle against a  _ real _ trainer, think you could help me put her through her paces?” 

  
He didn’t think he had ever seen Hop’s face light up so quickly.

A couple of days later the quarantine came into effect. It seemed to him like everyone was dancing around that word, quarantine, saying it without actually saying it at all. They would issue a “stay at home” order, telling them to “isolate themselves” and not leave their houses “unless completely necessary.” The virus had been labeled a national pandemic, and seemed everywhere and nowhere at once. 

**Day 1**

Leon didn’t think he had ever seen so many dishes. They were piled comically high, above the top of their sink and overflowing, stacked onto the counter around them. 

“Remind me why we can’t use the dishwasher again?” He called back to his mom and Hop, wincing as one of the plates on the top of the pile began to teeter. Their washing machine was a dinky little thing with not a lot of life left in it, and while it would certainly take quite a few loads, he didn’t think handwashing the pile would make it go away any faster. He was going to be stuck here until the middle of July at this rate! 

His mom looked up from the newspaper she was reading. “Hmm? Oh, Hop helped me make molasses cookies the other day to send to all our neighbors.” 

“I made the molasses,” Hop grinned. 

“And then we used what little bit of it didn’t set up in the various bowls he poured it into for the cookies,” his mother finished with a smile. 

“Oh, that’s nice,” Leon said, smiling. It didn’t reach his eyes. 

Hop giggled a little bit and Leon cursed himself for asking his mother what he should be doing to “help out around the house”. He knew he was being a helpful, good son and a nice person, but at what cost? Sighing, he got to work. 

The answer to his prayers came in his Rotom phone, buzzing to life with a call as he reached about the halfway point in the stack of dishes. Turning from the mountain in front of him to read the contact name, Leon smiled. “Oh, it’s Raihan!” 

His mom looked up from her magazine again. “Oh honey if you want to go answer that Hop can finish the rest of the dishes. I know it’s been so long since you’ve gotten a proper sit down with him.”

Leon grinned and nodded, drying his hands as Hop began to protest quietly behind him. “Thanks Mom,” he said, picking up the call as he started to walk away from the devastation in front of him, “Raihan, you’re an  _ angel _ !”

There was a chuckle from the other end of the line. “I’m a what?”

Leon felt his cheeks flush. “Never mind, what’s up?”

**Day 2**

“There’s nothing to do,” Hop groaned, letting his head lean back and  _ thunk  _ softly against their wooden floorboards. 

“Bored so soon? Aren’t you going out to walk six feet apart from Gloria and Victor later today?” Leon asked him absentmindedly, squinting a little harder at him homework and typing a little bit slower on his computer as he contemplated how to entertain Hop. “And then again tomorrow? And the day after that? And then the day after-” 

“Yeah but until then there’s nothing to do,” Hop mumbled into the floor. 

“Just think, this is what our pokemon must feel like  _ all the time _ ,” Leon said in response. 

“Alright Mr. Ethics, thank you for that,” Hop retorted. “I’ll just get you your soapbox and you can preach about cruelty to pokemon to our empty streets. Gosh, college really does change you...” 

“Hey, no need to get all feisty, you’re the one who brought it up in the first place,” Leon chuckled. “Besides, it’s actually a fascinating major, I’m considering it.” 

Hop just rolled his eyes, but grinned despite himself. “Have you seen Raihan since the tournament?” he just asked, changing the topic. 

“Yeah, we met up a couple of times while I was at college to grab some food and catch up,” Leon replied offhand, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose for the third time that minute and tightening the half bun he had thrown his hair into to keep it out of his face. 

“ _ Interesting _ ,” Hop said, and Leon could practically hear the smile in his voice. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he said, finally looking over from his computer. Hop was laying splayed on the floor like he was making a snow angel, his Dubwoll sitting next to him. Leon made awkward eye contact with the pokemon before finally meeting Hop’s eyes. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hop replied coyly. 

“That! Right there!” Leon pointed at him. “It’s your tone!” 

“Oh, you know,” Hop said offhand. “I just wondered if you had talked with your ‘one true rival’ recently…”

Leon made eye contact with Dubwoll again, rather than keep his gaze on Hop. “That was played up for the media,” he said offhand, knowing his face was slowly and steadily turning various shades of pink and red. 

“Oh, of course,” Hop nodded patronizingly. 

Leon’s rotom phone took that very moment to ring. As though shocked by the pokemon, Leon whipped around and grabbed it, quickly checking the caller id. 

“That wouldn’t happen to be him now, would it?” Hop asked him innocently, batting his eyelashes at him, and Leon knew his face was bright red now.

“Go find someone your own age to bother, kiddo,” he mumbled, grabbing the Rotom and fleeing the room, but not missing Hop’s call of ‘tell him I love you for me, okay?’. 

Leon just bit his lip and tapped the button to accept the call. “Hey Rai, long time no see…” 

**Day 3**

Leon was once again working on his homework when he heard it, the  _ ding  _ of his phone that signified a call or message. Nearly vaulting over the back of his chair he pulled his phone towards him excitedly, to see Sonia’s smiling contact looking back at him. Confused, he accepted the Facetime request. 

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked her, already beginning to pull his hair out of his ‘homework bun’ self consciously. 

“What’s up? What’s  _ up? _ ” Sonia asked him. “You’ve been back in town! And you didn’t even tell me! I found that out from Raihan! Why haven’t you called me yet? Last I knew you were in college!” 

Leon chuckled. “Good to see you too,” he responded, propping his phone up against the top part of his computer. Sonia had been his friend since before he could remember, and sometimes he felt like she was tighter with the gym leaders group than he was. Of course, it didn’t hurt to be dating the water gym leader, but she had been close to that group for ages before that. Sonia just had that type of personality, you couldn’t help but smile around her. 

Sonia just shook her head. “Boys...” she sighed, “I swear, none of you would keep in touch if not for me.” 

“Probably true,” Leon said with a nod, not even trying to deny it. Without meaning to, a little earworm popped into his head.  _ You and Raihan have seemed to keep well enough in touch without Sonia though.  _

“So how’s the quarantine been on your end?” Leon said, shaking the offending thought away. 

“Oh, about the same honestly,” Sonia chuckled. “I haven’t been out much unless Yamper and I are going for a walk around town, but Gran doesn’t usually leave her study anyway, so it’s been very quiet. I’ve been bringing her meals and tea. How about you, everyone keeping well away from each other's nerves?”

Leon thought on it a moment. “I’m honestly just happy to get to spend this much time with my family again,” he said honestly. “I've been helping Mom out where I can and Hop’s been… well,” Leon rolled his eyes fondly. “He’s been growing into his role as a younger brother, that’s for sure.”   
  
“I’m sure he admires you less and less every day,” Sonia said dryly. 

Leon just chuckled at that. 

“Hey, so I’m gonna probably try and do a big group call sometime between when I hang up with you and tomorrow night, you want to join in?” Sonia said. 

“Oh yeah, it would be awesome to get to see everyone at once, who’s gonna join in on it?” Leon said, trying to think back to the last time he had seen all of their friends in one place. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

“Umm, I already talked to Nessa and Piers and Miles, they all said they could make it,” Sonia said, scrunching up her nose like she did when deep in thought. “Bea said she’d have to catch us another time, and I think Gordie said the same. Oh, and Raihan said he’d be there of course,” Sonia said after a moment, smiling at Leon. “I hear you two have been talking quite a lot recently anyways.” 

Leon bit his lip. “Yeah well, he  _ is _ my one true rival,” he said defensively. Sonia’s tone had become scarily similar to Hop’s, and he wasn’t sure he appreciated it. “Besides, he’s alone in his apartment right now, he’s talking to anyone he can get to answer the phone.” 

“Oh come on, you can cut the crap with me,” Sonia said, “I know you’ve had a crush on him since you were like nine!” 

Leon sighed. This was true. He had told her himself.  _ Stupid nine year old him…  _ “Yeah, well that doesn’t change anything, okay?” he said. “There’s no way anything could happen, so I’ve just kind of pushed all of that to the backburner for now, okay?” 

Sonia just smirked. Leon could almost hear her saying ‘ _ we’ll see about that. _ ’ There was a muffled noise behind Sonia, and she turned around in her chair slightly, frowning a little. “Well, I guess I’ll have to see you tomorrow then, Gran is calling me.”

“Bye Sonia, it was great to catch up with you,” Leon said, smiling and shaking his head a little bit. 

“See you later, Champ,” Sonia said, and then the screen went black. 

Leon rolled his eyes. He knew Sonia meant well, but honestly, he was just tired right now. Slogging back to his homework, he pulled his hair back into its half bun and tapped his pencil on the table. At this rate, it would only be another three hours until he figured out what his teachers actually wanted him to do with the assignment in front of him...

Leon helped with dinner, and then with the dishes again when it was done, and then he retired to his room to scroll endlessly through his phone and check through his various social media. He liked a photo of Milo making some kind of pottery and one of Kabu’s wife teaching him how to make some kind of strudel. Finally, he stopped on one from Raihan’s account, the dragon type gym leader having clearly attempted to take a selfie with a wild Dreepy. Unfortunately for the photo, the pokemon was a blur of excitement, but Raihan remained in laser clear focus, smiling and throwing up a peace sign. Leon liked the photo, grinning wide enough to match Raihan’s. The caption read “Ah yes, nothing like a relaxing walk through nature to keep us all calm during these trying times.” 

It was almost like he had summoned him. Leon’s phone buzzed in his hand, he was getting a call from Raihan. 

Almost dropping the phone on his face, Leon hastened to accept the call, holding the phone to his ear as quickly as possible. “Yo,” he said. Then he began mentally kicking himself for starting the conversation with ‘yo’.

“Hey there,” Raihan said after a moment, sounding somewhat relieved. “You’re up late.”

“Oh you know, gotta scroll through all the pictures of people doing things with their time in quarantine so I can feel even more isolated,” Leon said. The mental self-kicking continued as he wondered why he would make such a bad, self deprecating joke. 

Luckily, Raihan chuckled. “Dude, you have no idea. I’ve felt so useless. This is the last time I tell myself ‘oh, if I just had some extra time I’d get that done…’”

“I know, right! I’ve been pretty much just doing homework and sitting on my butt,” Leon said, absentmindedly twirling a lock of his hair in between his fingers. “So,” he continued, “to what do I owe the pleasure?” 

There was a slight pause. “I don’t know, I just wanted to hear your voice I guess,” Raihan responded quietly.

Leon laughed. “Wow, isolation’s really getting to you, huh dude?” 

“Yeah,” Raihan responded, “Something like that…” 

Leon smiled. Sure, at the end of the day he might be tired, but at least he was tired and talking to Raihan. 

Raihan made everything in his life right now seem just a little bit less bleak. 


	2. The Catastrophe Continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm back! Welcome to another fever dream of a chapter, provided at 1:19 by yours truly and written all in one go. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)
> 
> (I'm writing Hop and Leon's relationship more or less off of the one me and my younger brother has so this is confirmed 100% totally how siblings might act during quarantine lol)

**Day 7**

Leon’s alarm clock was going off. He did nothing to remedy the situation, instead groaning and flopping over in bed. 

His alarm had been going off for what felt like an eternity. It had yanked him from sleep’s soft clutches, and while the rude awakening (pun intended) seemed bearable on its own, he had nothing to do that day. He could just let it keep ringing…

“Leon, shut that thing up!” 

Oh great, Hop was awake. 

“Sorry,” Leon grumbled as loudly as he could in the direction of Hop’s room. Reaching out and feeling around blindly, his fingers finally came in contact with his Rotom phone. Tapping the screen to shut it off, Leon flopped back over on his back and stared at the ceiling. He was simultaneously too hot and too cold, an odd sensation. His stomach grumbled with authority, and he found himself going through the movements to make for the kitchen. 

Hop sat at the kitchen table, hunched over a bowl of cereal and wearing just about the fluffiest bathrobe Leon had ever seen. Their homely kitchen was otherwise unoccupied, and Leon moved towards the fridge, blinking the remains of sleep out of his eyes and grabbing some milk and then the cereal from the cupboard.    
  
As Leon poured himself a bowl, he heard Hop make a noise of protest. 

“What?” Leon couldn’t figure out for the life of him why he felt so sluggish and tired. It wasn’t like anyone was doing anything. 

“You’re using all the milk up,” Hop said in something that approximated a whine. Leon had to physically suppress an eye roll. 

“You’ve drowned  _ your _ cereal in milk but go off I guess,” he replied to Hop, the foreign phrase sounding odd on his tongue. Sonia used it all the time but he still just couldn’t get behind it. 

Hop made another noise of protest as their mother walked into the room. “Alright now boys, that’s enough,” she chided them lightly. “If we’re all going to be staying in this house together again we’re going to have to relearn how to get along. Can y’all do that for me?” She smiled at them authoritatively. 

Hop nodded as Leon said “Sorry Mom,” quietly. 

“Now, isn’t that nice, everyone getting along?” Their mother was beaming. “What are my boys up to today?” She asked. 

“I’m gonna go hang out with Marine and the twins today,” Hop said quickly in between spoonfuls of cereal. If he ate any faster, Leon suspected he might choke. 

Their mother pursed her lips. “Kids from two families at once? Oh, honey, I’m not sure if that’s safe. Better to just choose one.” 

“But  _ Mom _ , I already said I’d go!” Hop exclaimed. “I’ll wear a mask and everything, come on!” 

“Don’t take that tone with me,” their mother said lightly. “Honey, it would be best if you just stayed away from groups of people, okay?” 

As Hop was beginning sulking over his breakfast, (the first time of many) Leon chimed in with his plans. “I was thinking I would bake something today, maybe even see Sonia…”

“Oh that sounds lovely!” Their mother smiled at them one last time. “Well, I’m back to work, we’ve started daily video chat calls and today’s starts in five or six minutes.” 

“Bye Mom, love you,” Leon said, smiling. 

“Love you,” Hop echoed in between scoops. 

As soon as their mom left the room, Leon turned to his brother. “You’re gonna choke if you keep eating that quickly,” he advised Hop wisely, who made a face at him. 

“You’re gonna choke,” Hop’s tone was mocking, and he made a face.

“Mature.” Leon rolled his eyes, getting up to leave the kitchen. “Have fun playing with your friends.” 

“We’re not playing, we’re going for a walk!” Hop practically growled. “For our online gym class.”

That stopped Leon. “You have online gym? 

“Yeah, how bullshit is that?” Hop said, wrinkling up his tiny nose. “I thought gym was the one thing we would get out of during this!”

Leon just laughed, ruffling his hair as he went by. “No rest for the wicked, bro,” he said. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hop called at him as left. 

**Day 9**

Leon was officially screwed. He had run out of counter space. Breads and muffins and pastries of all kinds surrounded him, and he was holding a still steaming plate of cookies, fresh out of the oven.  _ Crap.  _ He bit his lip.  _ How did that even happen? _

It had started with the lemon poppy seed muffins. It was simple at first, he would listen to music and dance around the empty kitchen while he whipped up a couple of muffins, that was all. He had enjoyed it so much he found himself making another batch. And then Sonia had sent him a four ingredient bread recipe and a text saying “so freaking easy dude! I made like a million loafs” and he found that those four ingredients were four that they had in the house.

Maybe he’d gotten carried away. 

From there, he got bored, flipped through his mom’s cookbook, found a couple of simple recipes, and got to work. And now they were out of flour.  _ Double crap.  _ Leon stacked the tray haphazardly on top of one of the sheets of drying cookies, and bit his lip again. Finally, after staring at the baked goods conundrum for far longer than he should have, he switched off the oven and called Raihan. 

He answered on the second ring. 

“Hey there!” He sounded out of breath. 

“Hey yourself,” Leon said, grinning as he heard his voice. “How have you been?” 

There was a brief pause. “Surviving.” He could almost hear Raihan’s shrug. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your lovely call?”

“I have a problem.” Leon told him the situation. 

“Honestly, that sounds like the opposite of a problem,” Raihan said, sounding confused. 

“We can’t eat all of this!” Leon said. “And we’re out of flour!” 

“Fair point.” Raihan snickered. “Well, if you’re asking for someone to help you get rid of several baked goods, I do know of a very hungry young adult who would gladly come take some off your hands.” 

Leon grinned, despite the teasing he heard in Raihan’s voice. “Well,” he nearly drawled, “If he’s inviting himself over, I suppose I could offload some of these to him…” 

“Perfect,” Raihan said, speaking equally slowly. “Well then, he can be over in, say, fifteen to twenty minutes?” It was an out, if Leon decided now for any reason to rescind his previous invitation. 

“Deal,” he said, taking a moment before a certain fact set in. “But you can’t come inside. My mother would  _ flip _ .”

“I will be sure to stay six feet from both you and your house for the entirety of my visit in your backyard,” Raihan promised, “You can even chuck the bread at me from a great distance if you wish. 

Leon nodded. “Yeah, that’ll work.” 

“I guess I’ll see you soon then.”

Leon couldn’t help but grin at the thought, his stomach twisting a little bit in that way that made him feel all freezer burned. “It’s a date. See you soon dude.” 

The moment he hung up he immediately began scrutinizing his various breads and sweets. A baker he was not, but some of his attempted creations had certainly turned out better than others. He chose the least deformed of the cookies, the leash squashed looking bread, the muffins with the roundest tops. 

Hop wandered into the kitchen, nose buried in a comic book. “Hey, Mom said that we both should read something today to keep our minds awake, okay?” He said, before he looked up. “Holy- dude, what did you do?” His eyes were as wide as saucers. 

Leon made a noise between a sigh and a laugh. “Baking.” 

“You can say that again,” Hop nodded, reaching over and trying to grab a cookie out of the bag Leon was holding. He pulled it away.    
  
Hop’s muffled cry of “Aww, come on man!” was muffled as Leon exclaimed, “No! Those are for Raihan!” 

Hop’s face immediately twisted into a smirk. “Ah, yes, my apologies, brother.” He nodded. “Of course they’re for Raihan.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Leon’s face was heating up. “And if you want a cookie, just take one from the pile over there,” he gestured to the plate of slightly more deformed baked goods and nodded as Hop grabbed about three and shoved them in his mouth at the same time. 

“You know what it means,” Hop said through a mouthful of cookie crumbs, “These are really good.”

“Oh, really?” Leon’s whole face lit up. “I’m so glad! I don’t bake much, so…” 

“Yeah no he’ll love them,” Hop said as he walked past him, patting him on the shoulder. “Go get him, bro.” 

“Still don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leon called back to him in a hasty attempt to deny whatever the heck Hop was thinking. A text chimed on his Rotom phone. 

_ Five minutes away :) _

Leon took his slightly oversized bag of baked goods and went to sit out on their front step. It was a fairly nice day, sunny, with only light winds that rustled the leaves on the trees and made the grass seem to shimmer as it moved. 

It wasn’t long before Raihan was there, sliding off of a Corviknight. He landed softly on the ground, and shook his head to clear some stray leaves from his hair. He appeared to have sewn himself a mask, and it was orange and black to match the rest of his ensemble. 

“Long time no see, my dude,” Raihan said to him, grinning through the mask, and Leon’s heart nearly stopped in his chest. He could tell he was grinning because of the way the corners of his eyes scrunched up and the sparkle in his eyes. It had been too long since he’d seen him in person, and Leon could almost (stupidly) feel tears coming to his eyes. 

“Yeah,” he echoed. “Long time no see.” 

“I see you’ve brought your part of the trade,” Raihan said, nodding at the bag clutched in Leon’s hand. Then his eyes traveled the length of Leon’s person, from his sweatpants to his messy ponytail to the tears in his eyes. “Oh shit dude,” Raihan said, eyes widening. “You okay?”

  
Leon felt himself sniffing and he reached up and brushed aside a stray tear with a chuckle.  _ Get a hold of yourself dude… _ “Sorry, I just…” he looked at him. “I’ve never wanted to hug another person so badly before.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop a kudos, comment, something, please. I'm starved for human contact and I want to know that you guys are alive lol


	3. Within Six Feet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! :D I had a super fun time writing it and I hope you enjoy!

“Oh,” Raihan said softly, making as though he was going to step closer, to comfort him, but stopping well on the outside of the state mandated six foot distance apart (two labradors touching noses).    
  
“I’m fine, I just need a moment to-” Leon sniffed loudly, “compose myself.” He wiped the last of his tears, shook his head, straightened his ponytail, and leveled his gaze on Raihan again, putting a pleasant smile on his face. His stomach was doing jumping jacks. “Wait, did you say trade?”

“Oh yeah,” Raihan said with a tentative smile. “I brought you something too.” He tossed a small package at Leon, who caught it with a surprised look.    
  
“What’s this?”    
  
“Oh, just something I had lying around the house…” Raihan said, scratching the back of his head. And was it just Leon or was there a bit of pink blush creeping over the top of his mask? “Anywho,” he said, clearing his throat, “you can open it later. Now hand over the baked goods!” His voice had taken on a teasing tone, and he did finger guns. “This is a robbery!” 

“Oh no!” Leon joked back, setting the bag down. “Please sir, don’t take my bag, it’s all I have…” 

“Well I’ll be taking that bag, and all of the delicious goodies inside of it whether you want me to or not!” Raihan exclaimed. “Now back away slowly from the bag, that’s it.” He nodded as Leon started to move away slowly. “No need to make me do something we’d both regret.”

“And what would that be?” Leon asked, trying not to chuckle. “For example.” 

“Well…” Raihan drawled, “I would have to  _ come within six feet of you _ .” 

Leon mock gasped. “No! Anything but that, please!” 

Raihan let out his little cackling laugh, which was Leon’s favorite of his laughs. He used the polite chuckle when engaging in awkward social situations and the deep booming one when in competition or on television, but that little cackle was reserved for moments when he was so enthralled by the humor of the situation that he couldn’t help it. It was one of Leon’s favorite sounds in the entire world. 

“So you’re looking good then,” Raihan teased, retreating with the bag of goodies. “I’m loving the sweatpants and messy ponytail look on you.”

“Oh right back at you,” Leon chuckled. “Did you sew that mask yourself?” 

Raihan touched his face self consciously. “Oh, yeah,” he said, grinning again. “I figured… why not try something new, you know? And I’ve never tried anything quite like it. It’s… hard.” He had clearly struggled to find that word, and Leon chuckled. 

“I can’t believe it… The great Raihan has finally met his match- the sewing needle!” 

“Hey now,” Raihan said, but his grin was only getting bigger. 

“Oh yeah, I know Raihan,” Leon said, pretending to speak to a third party. “I hear the only things he can’t tackle are Ex-Champion Leon and the mighty  _ sewing needle… _ ” 

Raihan rolled his eyes fondly. “You’ll always be  _ my _ champion,” he said softly. 

Leon sent him a brilliant smile. 

**Day 12**

“Who ate the last of the brownies?” their mother called from the kitchen. Leon and Hop both froze where they were, controllers in hand, half eaten brownies hanging out of their mouths. Very slowly, they turned to look at one another, Leon trying not to laugh, Hop trying not to panic. 

“You know I can hear the sounds from your game playing even if you’re completely quiet, boys,” their mother called, a hint of laughter in her voice. “I’m not mad, we’ve had baked goods of all kinds in the house since pretty reliably for quite a long time.”

Hop and Leon exchanged glances out of the corners of their eyes again as their mother walked into the room. 

“Hi Mom!” Hop said through a mouthful of brownie, giving her a massive chocolate stained grin.

“Gross,” Leon muttered under his breath. 

Their mother just chuckled. “Hi, boys.” 

“What’s up, mom?” Leon asked, giving her a slightly tired smile. Hop had been beating him pretty badly, and he was secretly a little bit glad for the distraction. 

“Sonia is outside, she was hoping she could steal you for a walk,” his mother informed him, returning his smile. “As for you, mister,” she directed at Hop, “You’ve been wearing that bathrobe all day, and you need to get dressed and leave this room for at least a little bit. Go outside, do something creative!” 

Hop made a little grumbling sound as he stood up. 

“Thanks mom,” Leon said quickly as he stood up as well, moving past her to make a beeline for their front door. Sure enough, when he opened it, Sonia was sitting on the front step pensively. “Hey,” he said by way of greeting. 

She jumped a little bit before she stood up. “Hey yourself,” she shot right back at him. “Leon, you are the worst a human being has ever been at communicating in the history of forever.”

Leon ducked his head, embarrassed. “Sorry, Sonia…” 

“It’s okay,” she said with an endearing smile and a roll of her eyes. “You can’t help it. I just miss you, you big idiot.” 

“Me too,” Leon said, somewhat glumly. “We need to figure out another big group call, since the first one went so well.”

“Well, I’m free from now ‘till… anytime in the foreseeable future,” Sonia joked. 

“Well what do you know, me too!” Leon said, imitating surprise. “What a strange coincidence!” 

Sonia just laughed, shaking her head a little bit. 

“So what have you been filling your newfound free time with?” Leon asked her, taking the time to put on a mask. 

Sonia wrinkled up her nose. “I’ve been reading a lot,” she started.    
  
“Oh, that’s great!” Leon exclaimed. “What have you read?” 

“I’m trying to read my entire bookshelf during the quarantine,” Sonia told him. “I’m about thirteen days into this plan, and so far so good. I’m averaging between a half and a whole book a day.” 

Leon couldn’t help but blanch a little bit at that. “You  _ what? _ ” 

Sonia just laughed. “I know, I know it’s a stupid way to fill my time, I just thought it would be fun, and since I don’t know when the deadline is, I’m just kind of scrambling to get through as many as possible.” 

“No, I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all,” Leon rushed to reassure her. “In fact, I think it’s awesome that you’ve chosen something and stuck with it.” He chuckled a little bit. “I went from doing nothing, to baking until we had no flour in the house, to just floating in this state of half productivity all the time.” He paused, running his fingers through a couple stray strands of hair. “I feel so tired, all the time.” 

Sonia grinned at him. “Well, I already knew  _ that _ .” 

Leon looked down at himself. “Is it that obvious?” He asked her, taking in his own rumpled clothing and disheveled look. “I’m not struggling to stay awake or anything, promise.” 

“No, silly!” Sonia laughed. “Raihan mentioned it to me only like, a dozen times.” She shook her head. “That boy will not shut up about you.” 

“Really?” Leon tried to keep his voice even and uncaring. He failed miserably. 

Sonia smirked. “For someone who spends so much time on the phone with him these days, you clearly know nothing about him. You’re his idol, Leon. He adores you.” 

While that wasn’t quite what Leon had expected to hear, he still felt the immediate flush travel across his cheeks in response, and he smiled at the ground for a couple of seconds while he collected his thoughts. 

“Gosh, just look at the two of you,” Sonia said, shaking her head. “Absolutely hopeless.” 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Leon murmured. 

“At this rate, you two will be eighty before you both realize you’ve been pining after one another since you were both like fifteen,” Sonia continued, ignoring him and tut tutting softly. “What a shame… They could have had it all, but they were just. Too. Freaking. Dense.” When he looked at her she was grinning, daring him to challenge her.

“Alright alright, that’s enough of that.” Leon waved his hand in her general direction, biting back a smile of his own. “I know I’m pining, I’m just not going to act on it, you see?” he explained, like that made it any better. 

Sonia just laughed, shaking her head. “Sure, whatever you say.” 

Leon nodded. “I do say. You know what else I say?” 

“Hmm?” She looked over at him inquisitively. 

“I say we should definitely do this again as soon as possible.”   
  
They were back in front of his house, their path having taken them on a gigantic loop. 

“Absolutely,” Sonia grinned. “I live like right over there, don’t be a stranger, okay?” She looked hopeful for some reason. 

“Definitely not,” he promised. 

**Day 16**

“If I have to spend one more second locked up in this house I am going to  _ lose it! _ ” Hop was yelling. 

_ Ah yes, the melodic tones of a wronged teenager,  _ Leon thought with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.  _ The perfect background noise for this timed test worth approximately 46-48% of our grade. _

“Hop, quiet down, Leon needs to get his work done!” their mom hollered from the kitchen, where she appeared to be going through a baking phase of her own. 

“I’m leaving!” Hop shrieked. 

“And no one’s stopping you?” Their mother’s voice was toeing the line between semi-angry and just plain confused. “You know what, some fresh air might do you good.” 

Leon let his head thunk lifelessly against the wooden desk. 

**Day 21**

“I don’t know Rai, I still think you aren’t putting enough stock in sheer persistence-” Leon was saying when Hop walked into his room, slamming the door loudly behind him. “Hey, hey, woah, what’s this for?” Leon scrambled to his feet from where he had laid on his bed, chin in his hands and legs kicked out back behind him. 

“Hi Hop!” Raihan said, waving through the screen. 

“Hey Raihan,” Hop said, starting to deflate a little bit. “Sorry Leon, just... “ Hop shook his head. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important.”   
  
Leon squinted suspiciously at him. Hop’s voice lacked all of its usual smugness, and his little brother looked tired. He furrowed his brow. “Of course,” he finally said, glancing back at Raihan to see his expression of concern mirrored through the tiny screen. 

“Everything okay there, kiddo?” Raihan asked, glitching for a moment. 

Hop just shook his head, as if to clear it of cobwebs. “I-it’s fine,” he said softly. “It’s stupid.” 

Leon put a hand on his shoulder. “Your thoughts and feelings aren’t stupid, Hop. What’s going on? Did Mom yell at you again?” 

Hop just bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooh spicy cliffhanger
> 
> there's only so much drama you can add to a story where the main characters can't leave the house lol sorry I'm trying

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I was unsure about continuing this fic but I think i will because it's the first thing I've had inspiration to write in three weeks, so I hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> (I wrote this feverishly in like thirty minutes no proofread please be kind lol)


End file.
